[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/231016/21566b013a54347c48947047d3614099.png[/img][/center] [center]Interactions: [@Xaltwind][@ERode][@Zeroth][/center] [b]DALTON[/b] Something was off. The young Merrick girl rushed through the forest, her wolf fur cloak flapping in the wind. She'd been out for her morning hunt through the Penrithe Forest when an unfamiliar scent caught her attention. It was extremely faint, but it smelled like another Merrick! That could mean trouble if the source was from a rival pack. As the smell got stronger, the girl wrapped her cloak around her body as she fell onto her arms and legs. In a matter of seconds there was a sleek silver wolf rushing along the forest floor. Coming upon a clearing, she stopped at the sound of a voice through the trees. [i]"Uh, System? Menu? Status Screen? Cultivation Arts?"[/i] said a confused man. [i]"Query: What is Skill, [Combat Sense]? Please?"[/i] Just barely peeking her nose through the brush, the girl could see a figure sitting in the clearing. He certainly LOOKED like a Merrick. She noted his wild and untamed hair, pointed ears, and the fangs in his mouth, but why on Vecta was he dressed like THAT?! At his age, he should have had five or six pelts on him at minimum! Not to mention there was still something wrong with his scent. Now that she was closer, the girl could tell it was unlike any pack of Merrick she recognized. Something was wrong here... Her suspicions were proven correct when the man called out a new phrase, [i]"Uh.. Status open?"[/i] Suddenly a glowing green square blazed to life right in front of the Merrick. The girl watched in bewilderment as he began to tap at the square as though something were on it. Sensing this could be trouble, she leaped out of the underbrush. For a split second, she thought she saw the man turn his head right to where she'd been hiding before she jumped; almost like he suddenly knew she'd been hiding there. As soon as the mythical status screen blazed to life in front of Dalton, he began to see information about his new form spread out on various tabs. Oddly enough, it didn't seem to have anything listed as a "Name". Outside of that, he only had enough time to flip to the skills page and read 'Combat Sense - Your keen senses allow you to detect and predict where potential attackers are hid-' when suddenly, a silver wolf jumped out of the underbrush and began growling at him menacingly. [b]MINAMI[/b] The door to the castle slowly swung shut behind Minami before any sunlight could reach inside. The woman was left alone in the dark for a moment before a series of torches blazed to life. She found herself inside a lavish medieval gathering hall. A grand staircase dominated the room and split off in two directions for different wings of the building. Before she could explore further, there came a voice from the top of the stairs. [i][color=662d91]"Ahh. His Lordship did say there was someone at the gate."[/color][/i] Looking up, Minami saw an older woman clad in a maid's uniform descending the stairs. In her hands she carried a candle and a black cloak. [i][color=662d91]"Poor thing, you must be chilled to the bone with that morning sun. Wrap yourself in this."[/color][/i] The maid handed the cloak over before offering a small curtsey. [i][color=662d91]"Apologies for not being down to greet you sooner. We were all about to turn in for the morning when my master sensed the arrival of a fledgling at the gates. You're lucky to have made it inside before the sunrise. Traveling all night. You'll need some rest. Og but where are my manners?! My name is Rowena, a humble servant of Lord Dragomir. If you have any questions about the castle, I'm happy to answer them as best I can?"[/color][/i] Meanwhile, in the crypt beneath the castle, a vampire was observing the small flock of fledglings that had fallen into his care that day. Many of them were likely fleeing persecution in other parts of the continent while others may have just needed a place to stay to wait out the sun. He curled his lips at the thought of such easy marks. They would make promising servants. [b]BELO[/b] [color=8dc73f][i]"You're sure it was THAT one?"[/i][/color] The silver elf eyes squinted through the thicket towards the scrawny orc carrying a child on its back. The beast didn't look any different from the ones they had killed on the beach, but if repoarts were to be believed, it had killed one of their own. While the orcs did fight back, the Elves - with their superior arms and armor - usually quashed any resistance without much trouble. As a result, it was rare for any of these abominations to mortally wound one of them. In true orc stupidity however, this one and its group had decided to flee from the beach and into the wooods. In other words, they had walked right into the Elves home turf. Regardless of which side you fell on in Vecta, everyone knews the elves were unrivaled when it came to forest basked combat. All this would take was one good arrow to the head and Mirai, the falled warrior, would be avenged. The would-be assassin picked up his bow, notched an arrow, and... Got stabbed through the eye before he could even pull back the bowstring. On the other end, Belo found himself looking at the bloodstain with incredulity. He couldn't explain this sudden feeling. He couldn't see the elf, but somehow he knew exactly where he was hiding. Hopefully that intuition would hold out as Belo followed this pack of orcs down the forest trail. They all seemed to know where they were headed, and none of them asked Belo any questions regarding his name, or his sudden appearance at the battle. The growing excitement on everyone's faces made Belo hope that wherever they ended up, there would be food available.